I know this blog is all about running at the moment – I promise I’m now reading a Georgette Heyer then an Angela Carter so all will be back to normal soon! This is also about mental health, something I’m interested in, particularly its intersection with exercise, so when I spotted this on NetGalley thanks to a friend, I just had to request it.

Scott Douglas – “Running is my Therapy”

(19 January 2018 – from NetGalley)

I think this might be that elusive thing, a helpful book about the mental health effects of running that includes both personal experience and carefully checked research. Having said that, it is quite reliant on just running being the thing to do, and also goes into more detail of various experiments than a lot of people will be happy to read. However, for me, used to reading popular psychology and sociology books, it came across well and had a good balance.

Douglas starts off discussing how he was looking for this kind of book himself and not finding one, claiming that mental health issues remain unexplored in running culture. This was true but I think is becoming less so, but there was definitely a gap in the market. He is clear that he’s used running to help his own clinical depression, finding it helps him to “be my best” and that it’s a powerful medicine whose effects he wants to share with other runners. He also makes the point that while running tends to make anybody who does it feel x degrees better, if you’re a depressive person, you can go “from being miserable to content”.

He asks the questions people want to know: how much running, what type of running and for how long is best for lifting your mood long-term. Really, he comes to the conclusion that ANY running is better than none, although there are some degrees of effort and achievement which have been proven to help lift us.

He starts the book off describing what depression and anxiety are and what treatments are available for them. He then goes on to describe the interaction of running and some of those treatments, so we get something about how running intersects with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, for example, here proving helpful because apparently runners are good at talking themselves out of negative thought patterns, so have an “in” to CBT already. I actually thought this particular point was a bit one-sided, as we’re also very good at talking ourselves into negative thought patterns, allowing our brains to halt our bodies. He also talks about how runners are already good at talking therapy, down to the side-by-side deep conversations we already have, and I can understand that – although he’s also clear on when it’s time to stop relying on your friends and go and see a therapist. He then interviews a therapist who walks and runs with her clients in order to access that level of honesty and intimacy.

The chapter on mindfulness is shorter than the book on mindfulness and running I read a while ago and more useful, just concentrating on thinking about what’s around you rather than engaging in terrifyingly deep, life-changing conversations. Throughout the book, the author relates things to the feeling when you’ve just pushed yourself in some speed work or whatever which link the text back tightly into the reader’s running experience.

As he looks at the research, Douglas is rigorous in applying scientific method to it, explaining what review articles are and specifying when the exercise they put people through is just done for men who ride bicycles and don’t already need a prescription for anti-depressants, etc. This does make you more likely to trust what he says and is the mark of a well put-together and edited book.

The book talks about community and social running and also dips deep into the author’s life, detailing his addiction and how he came back from that. This makes it a curious mix of the very scientific and detached and the intensely personal. The useful appendix summarises his main findings and this section can very well be used to help someone move forward and stay well.

A book that requires some concentration but is useful.

Thank you to the publisher, The Experiment, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this e-book in return for an honest review. The book is published today, 17 April 2018.

I do actually know a runner with MS, she has to be careful when she has a flare-up but finds it brings benefits. However that’s very particular to her. Running isn’t always tough for me, or I wouldn’t do it, and actually the author here recommends the chatty, gentle kind of running. Once you’ve got accustomed to it, most people end up with a pace they can run at for ages that is quite meditative.

Well every sensible runner starts with a walk-run programme and goes back to that from time to time as they need to. There’s a technique for walk-running called Jeffing after Jeff Galloway that you might want to look at. There are plenty of couch to 5k apps out there and you can do them at your own pace.

I’ve started running as my exercise recently, but I’ve not yet gotten into it enough to read about it. Sometimes I feel great after running and sometimes I just hate it, so it’s not become a fun hobby for me. A book like this, that uses research to make suggestions for enjoying running, sounds like it would be really helpful!

Oh, lovely! I would recommend Alex Hemingsley’s Run Like a Girl and Lisa Jackson’s Your Pace or Mine as lovely books to read when you’re starting out. This one is good on the use of running to keep you happy, however he does say things like “You know when you’ve just done 15 miles … ” which can be very off-putting to the newer runner!

I love talking about running – and what’s interesting for beginners is that most of us hate running up to about 2 or 3 miles. When you’re starting out, e.g. doing a couch to 5k programme, of course you only run a short distance, so you rarely get to the good bit! Once you’re at 5k and beyond, it should get nicer (although we all have terrible runs now and again, see my note about my 21 miler in my (not the) Manchester Marathon report before this one). Also if you’re having a horrible time, drop the pace and find 5 things you can see, 4 you can hear, 3 you can feel, 2 you can smell and 1 you can taste – that can distract the mind from hating! Good luck with your running!

Oh god, tell me about it. The lads in our club get so upset when we come back every time with tales of Men. There are nice people and I’ve had good comments but I’ve had some sickening things yelled at me.

Enough with the running book recommendations, Liz! Another brilliant sounding one to add to my list – I’ll be bankrupt at this rate. On the plus side, my current running reading (Lisa Jackson) has got me off the couch and out the door. I’ve been so inspired that I might just have signed up for the Cardiff half!

Oh fabulous! Did you get that rec from me? I love Lisa, she’s a friend now and she’s sooooo thrilled when she hears about the effect her books have on people, which I think is lovely. I think my friend Jase is doing the Cardiff Half how exciting! Happy training!

Wonderful review, Liz! As someone who is currently providing therapy this review is helpful and I appreciate how the author incorporates scientific articles to add credibility to his arguments. I may have to recommend this to some future clients; I find this topic fascinating, as exercise has been shown to help alleviate a variety of symptoms of different mental illnesses, so I’m curious as to how this author talks about depression specifically. Looking forward to your future reviews.

Thanks for your comment as always, Thomas. He has a lot to say about depression as well as different kinds of therapy (talking cures, anti-depressant medication, CBT, etc.) so I think would definitely be a good and useful read for you and possible recommendation to clients.